Pump Breast Milk to Pump Life Into a Premature Baby Heather Hopson June 27, 2012 Uncategorized (Photo Courtesy: Human Milk Bank Association of North America) Dear Diary, In part two of a three-part series on the Human Milk Bank Association of North America, Diary of a First Time caught up with Wendy, who pumps breast milk to possibly pump life into a premature baby. The mother of three has a busy schedule, but she finds time to pump extra bags of breast milk and donate it to a local milk bank. DFTM wanted to know why she became a donor and how others can also save lives. Heather: Hi Wendy! Thank you for taking time out to share your story. How did you become a donor? Wendy: I originally considered being a milk donor after my second child was born, because I had so much extra milk. My whole deep freezer was being taken over by frozen storage bags, and it seemed such a shame to throw them out. At that time the drop-off point for milk was 6 hours away and just didn’t seem feasible. However, by the time my third child was born there was a drop-off location in my home town. I found out about the program changes through the hospital and decided that if my milk supply was as ample as before I would love to help out. The milk donor program just seemed like the right thing to do to help out so many babies. It does take a little extra time to pump milk and label containers but it seems like such a minimal task in comparison to the good it can do! Heather: Some mothers sell their breast milk online. One mom recently featured on a television news program made $1,200 a month! She met a family in a parking lot and sold her milk for a dollar an ounce. Did you ever consider do the same thing? Wendy: I honestly did not even know that mothers were selling milk online until I had enrolled in the program. But even if I had, I would not have sold milk privately. I am not in desperate need for the money for one thing. And I would not have wanted to risk a baby’s health with milk that may/may not be handled correctly by the recipient. I feel like donation, at least for my situation, is what God would want me to do. Maybe it will make even a little difference for some other baby. Heather: Thanks Wendy for joining us! If you got (Breast) Milk and would like to donate, contact a milk bank near you. Below, you’ll find a list of locations in Canada and the United Stated. All costs of screening and shipping your donated breast milk are covered by the receiving bank. All donors to HMBANA member milk banks undergo a screening process that begins with a short interview over the telephone. Donor mothers are women who are currently lactating and have surplus milk. Donor mothers must be: ***In good general health ***Willing to undergo a blood test (at the milk bank’s expense) ***Not regularly using medication or herbal supplements (with the exception of progestin-only birth control pills or injections, Synthroid, insulin, pre-natal vitamins; for other exceptions, please contact a milk bank for more information) ***Willing to donate at least 100 ounces of milk; some banks have a higher minimum ALBERTA Calgary Mothers’ Milk Bank 103-10333 Southport Rd. S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2W 3X6 1 (403) 475-6455 Fax 1 (888) 334-4372 www.calgarymothersmilkbank.ca contact@calgarymothersmilkbank.ca BRITISH COLUMBIA BC Women’s Milk Bank C & W Lactation Services 4500 Oak Street, IU 30 Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1 Phone (604) 875-2282 FAX 604-875-2871 fjones@cw.bc.ca CALIFORNIA Mothers’ Milk Bank 751 South Bascom Ave San Jose, CA 95128 Phone (408) 998-4550 FAX (408) 297-9208 http://www.sanjosemilkbank.com/ mothersmilkbank@hhs.sccgov.org mothersmilkbank@hhs.co.santa-clara.ca.us COLORADO Mothers’ Milk Bank Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center and Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children 1719 E 19th Ave Denver, CO 80218 Phone (303) 869-1888 Laraine.Lockhart-Borman@healthonecares.com FLORIDA Mothers’ Milk Bank of Florida (developing) Orlando, FL milkbankofflorida@gmail.com INDIANA Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank, Inc. 4755 Kingsway Drive, Suite 120 Indianapolis, IN 46205 Phone (317) 536-1670 Toll-free 1 (877) 829-7470 FAX (317) 536-1676 info@immb.org IOWA Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa Department of Food and Nutrition Services University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics University of Iowa at Liberty Square 119 2nd Street, Suite 400 Coralville, IA 52241 Phone: (319)356-2652 FAX (319)384-9933 jean-drulis@uiowa.edu MICHIGAN Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank 601 John Street Suite N1300 Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Phone (269) 341-8849 FAX (269) 341-8918 Duffc@bronsonhg.org MISSISSIPPI Mothers’ Milk Bank of Mississippi (developing) PO Box 1538 Madison, MS 39130-1538 MilkBankofMS@gmail.com MISSOURI Heart of America Mothers Milk Bank At Saint Luke’s Hospital 4401 Wornail Rd. Kansas City, Mo kcmilkbank@saint-lukes.org 816.932.4888 NEW ENGLAND Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England PO Box 600091 Newtonville, MA 02460 or 225 Nevada Street Room 201 Newtonville, MA 02460 Phone: 617-527-6263 Fax: 617-527-1005 info@milkbankne.org NORTH CAROLINA WakeMed Mothers’ Milk Bank and Lactation Center 3000 New Bern Ave Raleigh, NC 27610 Phone (919) 350-8599 FAX (919) 350-8923 Suevans@wakemed.org OHIO Mothers’ Milk Bank of Ohio Grant Medical Center @ Victorian Village Health Center 1087 Dennison Avenue Columbus, OH 43201 Phone (614) 544-0810 FAX (614) 544-0812 ffeehan@ohiohealth.com ONTARIO Ontario Human Milk Bank (developing) Toronto, ON OREGON Northwest Mothers Milk Bank (developing) 3439 NE Sandy Blvd #130 Portland, OR 97232 info@nwmmb.org TEXAS Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin 2911 Medical Arts St. Suite 12 Austin, TX 78705 Phone (512) 494-0800 Toll-free 1 (877) 813-MILK (6455) FAX (512) 494-0880 info@milkbank.org Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas 600 West Magnolia Ft. Worth, TX 76104 Phone (817) 810-0071 Toll-free 1 (866) 810-0071 FAX (817) 810-0087 info@TexasMilkBank.org DFTM Wants to hear from you! Would you donate your abundance of breast milk to a milk bank or head to your bank and deposit the money you make selling it online? Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.Δ